Book Review: Dreamlander

   

          Chris Redston, a harrowed young man who struggles with grief and bitterness finds out that he of all people is the Gifted, one chosen to live two lives and remember both. When his body goes to sleep in Chicago, he wakes up in the land of his dreams. Thrown into a medieval world on the edge of disaster, he unwittingly creates his own archenemy and throws off the balance of the universe. In order to right what he’s wronged, he must make a choice. Walk away like he always has, or trust in a higher plan and face his own greatest weaknesses head on.

Image used with permission by author

Rating: 4.5 stars  

Creative, ambitious, and unafraid, Dreamlander is quite a ride. K.M. Weiland's fantasy novel hinges on complexity and character. The straggeringly detailed world of her imagination is scenic and has a rich history and clear geography, sprinkled with unique technology like travel by skycar. And just when I thought the plot was as thick as it could get, it got even thicker!
            Out of a large cast of characters, my top three (all secondary characters) were:

Duke Eroll- fashionable, carefree, gallant friend of Princess Allara who reminded me of Bertie Wooster (of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves tales)

The Garowai- Chris’s mysterious but reticent and sneezy guide

Orias- a pale-skinned, blue-blooded warrior of the Cherazim race

            In spite of its complexity, Dreamlander reads clearly and smoothly (often eloquently), and  as a follower of K.M. Weiland's advice blog, I see that she's entitled to give it. But after all my glowing praise, let me explain why I didn't give Dreamlander 5 stars.

1. The surprises and plot-twists had me wishing for smooth, or at least, straightforward, sailing by the end

 2. With its Three Musketeers 17th century Europe feel, the occasional cowboyish colloquialisms jarred me a bit

3. The figurate descriptions grew a little heavy and distracting at points

           I did like this book a lot. The ending made me teary, which is almost worth a whole star! Dreamlander addresses a plethora of human issues, and in the end it’s really a story about redemption, one that left me pondering my own choice to do right.